Skip to main content

Jai Jawan, Jai Kishan

While speaking about the ideal path for the saffron party, Dr S. Swamy casually mentioned the unspoken truth. The 2019 elections could be won just on the lines of communal conservatism, striking an image of glorified India and the role of Hindus in it. But, putting his political acumen into context, he added that 2024 candidates, however, will have to account for the promised economy, governance and development. And so did the cards unfold; the BJP manifesto, which fueled the long-standing demands of and unified Hindu Rastra, seemed to land the party in a landslide majority.

But, as incumbency keeps knocking on the door, leaders must find new successes to celebrate. And here we come to another famous slogan "Jai jawan, Jai Kisan". Military mavericks and agriculture agendas have the potential to persuade public opinion in favour of the party when put rightly. Therefore reforms must be more appealing than revolutionising. That brings into the picture primarily non-liberalised agriculture, which employs massive numbers. The fear of losing out to corporates and conglomerates regarding market grab. So let's look at the conditions that make the privatisation of agriculture such a scary picture in India.

In the heart of the fear lies the spiritual attachment to the land. The piousness with which land is treated in India makes it a pivotal gear in the cultural machine. It's a land that reveres its soil with rituals and festivals arising from an agrarian culture. To make way for privatisation is to allow competition with the top guns and a subsequent loss of traditional landholding. To sum up, I believe the Indian farmers are unwilling to leave behind their lands and adopt a more 'worker in a factory' attire.

The second reason, which has disgusted everyone alike, is the bureaucracy. Known for its apparent sluggishness and ineffectiveness, the new bill threatens to put farmers in lines they no longer want to be (after a scary demonetisation experience). Also, we have built a perception of the gruesome turmoil farmers have to undergo if they, unfortunately, are on the wrong side of the law. Although every government has promised to smoothen the process, it's all old wine in new bottles. And do remember, what we are asking for here, is a change in the mindset, which is second in the hardness scale to 'change of culture'.

Finally, we have had some of the worst years in the centuries, none less than those of the great wars. And there has to be a backlash of the casualty and depression on the incumbent leaders. This brings us back to scapegoat politics. With its opposition already made diminutive and military exploits overstretched,  the saffron party is losing scalps to sacrifice. It's a short time before people seek an assessment report, and challenging questions follow.

Popular posts from this blog

Birth of a flood - a poet's admire of rain

The sky is almost dark, save for those last golden tinges that would fade in no time. As palm trees mark the oblivion, a muddy reflection forms the ground. The last few days were mostly rainy. So profound is our love for rain. And why wouldn't we? Unlike most other seasons, rain is so tender. A drop of patience which is about to reach its final destiny. Every time I look at raindrops, they remind me of a struggle. A journey that begins with summer in an aura of dry and burning heat. And in no time, the drop loses its sources. The long-held identity of its mother. With the loss of identity, an awakening awaits. The pleasure of reaching out and bonding. As our drop moves up and up the end of the sky, it realises the futility of pride and the necessity to bond. This comes with age. Not until it is near Earth does it agree to meet with other wanderers of the new world. And finally, all our drops reach the cold atmosphere. The coldness makes life dreary and lonely. As the youthfulne...

Turning back from pull to push

Two recent campaigns deserve attention from marketing enthusiasts, one of Campa Cola (reenergised by the Reliance Group) and of Tata Sampann's species. The challenges these two brands face are too distinct from one another. Campa, on the one hand, aims to fight the global brands like Pepsi and Coca-Cola, whereas Sampann looks to create a market in indian spices that has been dominated by local players like MDH and Everest. However, their strategies have something in common: getting the distributors to stock more of their products on the shelves. Campa is offering the distributors twice the margins, while Sampann is leveraging its vast portfolio to make stocking only Tata products a win for the distributors. Image credit: Economic Times To understand why this is happening, and what makes this interesting, one has to look back on the history of marketing, more specifically the shift from a push to a pull-based marketing, where the focus of the brands shifted from pushing their produc...

Politics of Perpetuity

There are obvious downsides to democracy. When we look at the distribution of opinion on a particular issue, it generally follows a normal distribution. This implies that to achieve the majority, it's theoretically advised to stick to the centre. And this love for mediocrity makes democracy allergic to politically solid decisions.  Along with it, democracies tend to be the rooster for sweet talkers. And that is an outcome rather than a voluntary trait. Primarily because most voters need to be equipped to deal with the complexities of the field. For example, it could be more practical for an electrical engineer to comprehend medical patterns and the pandemic's effect on production. Thus, democratic institutions need people managers who have two keywords to watch out for - sweet talking and status quo. However, democracies have been hugely popular. And people have reported being happier. Whether this is induced, indoctrinated or influenced is another question. But history has cho...